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Odd Bird specializes in home goods from dishware and pitchers to candles and pantry items.
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Odd Bird is located at 320 Brook Road in Jackson Ward.
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The pantry area inside Odd Bird is stocked with tinned fish, olive oils, spices and condiments.
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Odd Bird stocks local and national artists, makers and food brands.
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Whimsical dishware and dining table setups on display inside Odd Bird
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The kids’ corner inside Odd Bird
Catherine Kennedy and Taylor Logue always knew they wanted to collaborate on something big. The couple, owners of the quirky new home goods shop Odd Bird in Jackson Ward, had been orbiting each other creatively for years, Kennedy as a senior producer at The Martin Agency, Logue as an artist and graphic designer. When the Richmond natives were forced to quarantine together during the pandemic, they realized the importance of their shared space, which sparked the idea to spread their vision and vibe with a wider audience in the form of a retail store. Located at 320 Brook Road, the shop debuted earlier this month.
Inside, Kennedy and Logue have included touches from their own home, creating a cozy continuity and familiar feel. Their brand color, a lively tangelo, is the same hue that adorns their house’s front door, and the slab of black walnut that serves as the counter in the shop was harvested from a tree in their backyard.
Odd Bird owners Taylor Logue and Catherine Kennedy
“I’m not a fan of sterile, unapproachable spaces,” Kennedy says. “I wanted it to still be comfortable, and that was kind of why we wanted to bring in a lot of things from our home … so people could really see the objects in their real homes and have it be something a little bit more approachable.”
If the kitchen is the heart of the home, you can feel it beating in Odd Bird’s growing pantry selection. Currently, shoppers can score flavor builders such as Dab’s hot sauce, Aneto seafood and vegetable stock, and Diaspora Co. single-origin spices. There is also tinned fish; finishing olive oils from Olea Pia and Graza; hibiscus tea and stir fry sauce from Woon, a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles; and Edmond Fallot Dijon mustard, in proper tin pails imported from France. Kennedy notes that she’s continuing to develop the store’s edible offerings, working with makers including Richmond-based Ocean Moore of Gan Bei chili crisp to source locally made provisions.
Beyond snacks and pantry goods, food is on display at Odd Bird in less obvious, but no less delicious, ways. Discover candles fashioned into pasta shapes and mimicking green olives or a hunk of Gruyere cheese — ideal gifts for food lovers who own too many cookbooks already. There’s also a display from artist Jasmine Archie, the talent behind Pretty Shitty Cakes. Commissioned exclusively for Odd Bird, these ornate, one-of-a-kind layer cakes are actually stash boxes and tissue box holders. You’ll also spot wavy-handled pitchers from Sophie Lou Jacobson, Instagram-darling cutting boards from Fredericks & Mae, and vibrant, dreamy serveware from Paris-based Sabre to create a tablescape that’s drool-inducing before the meal even appears.
Kennedy’s taste for squiggly, colorful, playful, joyous objects is apparent in every inch of the shop. When deciding whether a product is right for the store, she looks at both form and function, plus who made the object and the source of its materials.
“A lot of them are made by artists or at least super small brands, and I think that’s something that was important because those things feel more special, more unique,” she says. “And you feel better about using it, at least I do. That’s something that I really love — being able, when people have questions, to explain a little bit about where the things are from and how they got here.”
Inspired by boutiques such as YOWIE in Philadelphia, Big Night and Little King in Brooklyn and Beacon, New York, respectively, Odd Bird provides an immersive, storytelling shopping experience, with detailed note cards around the store that offer descriptions of the makers. Taylor and Logue hope to strike a balance between celebrating Richmond and bringing in artists and brands that the city doesn’t have access to yet.
The pair plan to evolve their selection of pantry items, and they are also interested in offering on-site workshops and pop-ups with makers. Logue, in particular, is excited for collaborative projects with friends and neighbors including Eli Gray, who created the wood pieces in Odd Bird, and nearby Big Secret, who produced the acrylic picture frames used for artist descriptions. Plus, they’ll roll out an online store in the coming weeks.
Kennedy says the reception of Odd Bird has been overwhelmingly positive and welcoming, especially from fellow artists and business owners in Jackson Ward. “I think our job is to just be welcoming back and to honor Jackson Ward as much as we can.”
Store Scores
Five favorites from Odd Bird
House Matches — If you’ve ever thought matches deserved a cuter home than the typical cardboard box or book, you’re on the same page as Athens, Georgia-based artist collective State the Label. This set includes 100 4-inch matches in an adorable little hand-painted house.
Everybody Pepper Grinder — A pepper grinder can be a statement piece, and the eye-catching grinders from Dusen Dusen are just that. Adding one to the center of the table telegraphs your bold style for all to appreciate.
Serving Friends — Wooden spoons are a cooking essential, but designer Selena Liu’s squiggly spoons add an extra touch of whimsy that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without.
Make Your Own Monster Kit — New parents themselves, Catherine and Taylor kept the kiddos in mind, creating a sweet kids’ area where you’ll find this open-ended craft set from designer Donna Wilson.
Odd Bird Shop Swag — Designed by Logue, Odd Bird’s branded merch is some of the freshest around.
Odd Bird is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
